Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:46 am PST (10:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south-southwest of Avenal, CA, at 9:50 pm PST on 15 December 2021 (05:50 UTC), 21 km deep.
USGS: 14km SSW of Avenal, CA
- When
- 9:50 pm PST on 15 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) south-southwest of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 21 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 38 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 18 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1780 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avenal, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Avenal, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Kettleman City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 8,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 17 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 20 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km W of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 35.8823, -120.1607. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 38 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Monterey County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.6 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Avenal, CA
- 2.4 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 2.2 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 8km N of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 9km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 22km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 22km NW of Parkfield, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.